SYNCHRONISED SWIMMING: It's silver joy for Chippenham's Emma

CAPTAIN Fantastic Emma Holloway is celebrating after winning her first-ever solo medal at last weekend’s British Gas Synchronised Swimming Championships.

The 20-year-old, from Chippenham, clinched silver in the technical event (65.0912) at Sheffield, also finishing fourth in the free event (65.0667).

Chippenham Amateur Swimming Club member Holloway also led her Bristol Central team, which also included fellow Chippenham swimmer Rachael Lawrence, 16, to the prestigious Redwood Trophy with victory in both the technical team and free team events.

Holloway’s outfit also finished just 0.0667 points behind Rushmoor Synchro in the free combination team competition at the Ponds Forge Centre.

Former Great Britain junior Holloway, who is currently studying sport and exercise science at the University of Bath, said: “It’s my first year as captain and we pretty much dominated the championships, so I’m really proud of that.

“The British Championships are the biggest competition of the season and winning the Redwood Trophy is a great achievement for all of us. I’ve been swimming at them since I was 15 but I’ve never won a solo medal before – that was a big surprise.

“I was aiming to try and get two top-five finishes and I’ve managed to do that, as well as getting a medal.”

She added: “I’ve got a little bit of time off now before we start training for the Scottish nationals, which are in October – I’m going to be working on a duet with a partner.”

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